Promoting an awareness of sociocultural linguistics in the EFL classroom

Abstract

Understanding the inherent, interrelated relationship between language and socioculture has been widely recognized as an indispensable element of language learning. This is particularly relevant in light of the plethora of World Englishes currently being used around the globe (Shin & Jang, 2018). However, few studies have examined specific means by which this awareness can be promoted in the EFL classroom. The purpose of this study is to identify the perceptions of 80 Korean university English majors to an EFL activity that promotes an understanding of sociocultural linguistics. By examining sets of English and Korean sentences and comparing the participants’ translations of Korean and English sentences, the participants were asked to share their perceptions of sociocultural concepts embedded within the two languages. The participants identified ten such concepts which were related to lexical and grammatical characteristics of the languages. These included the use of personal pronouns, honorification, family-related and gender-specific vocabulary, word order, and the use of subjects, verb tenses, prepositions, articles, and plural versus singular nouns. In addition, the high majority stated the activity had promoted their understanding of the relationship between culture and language. The results of this study have a number of significant implications for educators and learners